Sticks and Stones

Nick @ Lakewood Church

"Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.

Matthew 7:1-5 NLT

1. Giving People the Benefit of the Doubt
1. Nick was meeting the family of his now-wife. Though he had never met Summer’s family, he observed her dad and JUDGED that he was a “serious no-nonsense type of guy. Consequently, he made sure to head there 30 minutes early to meet Summer's parents and was pulled over by cops: His insurance and Driver's License EXPIRED. He was nervous thinking that Summer’s family would see him as irresponsible and unworthy of their daughter. However, his now father-in-law came to his defense giving Nick the benefit of the doubt. Nick’s car had to be towed but he learned that Summer’s dad was gracious and fun.
2. Take Aways
1. His judgement was wrong.
2. He received grace that he wasn’t willing to give.
2. God is constantly rewriting stories.
1. John 8:1-11
1. Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them.3-6 The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”11 “No one, Master.”“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”
2. Let's not judge a person's story based off of one chapter.
1. We're all on a journey. We’re all in process.
2. One of the biggest temptations is to apply the truth of God to others before we apply it to ourselves.
3. Don’t wait to give grace.
1. Matthew 7:3-4: “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eyewhen you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[b] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
1. You will naturally be limited in your scope of someone else's life so approach people with an immense amount of grace.
1. Don’t wait to give grace
1. Flying with kids.
1. Nick used to be very frustrated on airplanes with kids. He’d complain and judge the person, thinking “How hard can it be to control a 2-year-old on an airplane for 5 hours.
2. Nick Had Kids
1. Now he sees unforeseen struggles that arise
2. He applauds struggling parents on flights
4. Jesus is always working behind the scenes.
1. Proverbs 25:7-8
1. It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace. Just because you've seen something, don't be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?
5. God Blesses people who cover
1. Genesis 9:18-29
1. The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth. After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked. When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: "May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives." Then Noah said, "May the Lord , the God of Shem, be blessed, and may Canaan be his servant! May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant." Noah lived another 350 years after the great flood. He lived 950 years, and then he died.
1. We all have weak moments.
2. Fight the trend and blaze a trail.
3. Your kids can feel your act of honor and grace for years to come. You can set a new trend in your family and your culture.
2. Whataburger
1. Homeless guy walks in and is immediately judged until someone decided to buy him food and pray for him.
1. It's easy to spot a problem be a solution.
3. Pastor Tony
1. Prostitutes in Diner
1. A pastor decided to throw a prostitute a birthday party and she said that was the first birthday party she’d ever had.
1. Bury judgement and throw birthday parties.
4. Care more about the sin than the sinner.
1. John 8:1-11: Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them. The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."
1. Pharisees cared more about the sin than the sinner. Jesus always cares about people first. Your future is not dictated by the past.
6. John 8:9-11: Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”11 “No one, Master.”“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”
1. Grace defends publicly so truth can correct privately.

1. You build credibility and relationship through grace.
2. Truth corrects privately
3. Throwing stones has never changed anyone's heart.
4. Blocking stones will revolutionize a heart.
7. It's easy to miss someone's story when you're focused on one blemish.
1. God is doing so much more in someone's life.
2. You don't know how the blemish got there.
8. ***Cindy's Pruning Story (will add later)
9. ***Dr. Paul's Mission Report (may add later)